Police seize big hauls of meth, ecstasy pills in Hanoi, Saigon City

Four people have been detained for investigations and may face death if found guilty.

Police in Saigon City have arrested two Vietnamese men in a drugs trafficking ring between Cambodia and Vietnam, seizing 10 kilograms (22 lb) of methamphetamine, while more than 7 kg of ecstasy delivered to Hanoi by courier service from overseas have also been intercepted.

The meth was found en route for delivery last week in saigon as police and border forces widened investigation into the ring that takes the drugs from Cambodia through land border gate in Tay Ninh Province, the Border Guard Command said Tuesday.

The drugs could fetch around VND10 billion ($440,000) on the black market, the officers said. They have arrested the 41-year-old motorbike driver, who snitched on his other accomplice in the ring.

Also on Tuesday police and customs forces in Hanoi launched a criminal probe into the smuggling of over 20,000 ecstasy pills weighing 7.4 kilograms, which were hauled earlier this month, the customs said.

The ecstasy pills seized in postal package in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Tung Son

Investigators said the pills were detected in a package sent by courier service from overseas to a Vietnamese woman. Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said the sender’s name was Le Ye Ping, likely a Chinese name.

The 27-year-old woman and another man, 24, were arrested when they came to receive the package.

Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Those convicted of smuggling more than 100 grams of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine or ecstasy are punishable by death by lethal injection or 20 years in jail.

Although the laws are strictly enforced with capital punishment handed down regularly, drug running continues.

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